Houston Business Journal articles from July 1999

Houston Business Journal archives from July 1999

Equity firm drives oil service consolidation.(SCF Investment Partners Inc.)(Company Profile)
July 2, 1999... L.E. Simmons, general partner of SCF Partners, directed a pair of consolidation plays in the oil patch last week. Simmons is behind the merger of four drill pipe distribution companies to form the largest distributor in North America. Sales...

Japanese firm drops plans for three local sites.(electronics manufacturer Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.)
July 2, 1999... Electronics manufacturer exits with same secrecy as it entered A Japanese electronics company that for months scouted sites for a proposed manufacturing plant has exited the Houston area as mysteriously and quietly as it entered. The...

Raising a legal challenge: local firm courts customers by putting the law online.(National Law Library)(Company Profile)
July 2, 1999... The Internet revolution is finally breaching the tradition-bound world of legal research, and a local information technology firm hopes to ride the leading edge. Houston-based National Law Library is putting the law on the Internet at...

Business vehicle: UH grads' class project becomes online entrepreneurial venture.(University of Houston graduates Chris Clements and Luis Sanchez)(Company Profile)
July 2, 1999... When most college students graduate, they plan to leave behind the all-nighters and subsisting off packaged noodles. But Chris Clements and Luis Sanchez are willing to stick it out a little longer. The two 1999 University of Houston...

Council approves plan to audit city's troubled legal department.(Houston City Council)
July 2, 1999... By a solid majority, Houston City Council this week voted to audit the legal department, outgunning a Mayor's office that tried to avoid having that department placed under the microscope. The audit was attached as an amendment to the...

Nabisco plans to shutter local cookie bakery near Texas Medical Center.
July 2, 1999... Blaming excess manufacturing capacity and a sagging cookie and cracker market, Nabisco last week announced plans to close its 50-year-old bakery and distribution center located on Almeda Road near the Texas Medical Center. A series of...

City council vote will require mayor's staff budget to add up.
July 2, 1999... Houston City Council members contended this week the cost of running Mayor Lee Brown's office as presented in the budget wasn't the whole picture and voted to force all department budgets to reflect all the employees that report to the...

Massachusetts Internet company acquires AltaVista from Compaq.(CMGI Inc.)
July 2, 1999... Instead of spinning off its Palo Alto, Calif.-based subsidiary in an initial public offering as previously planned, Compaq Computer Corp. is selling a majority stake in AltaVista Co. in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $2.3 billion. ...

The binds that tie.(Aircraft Belts Inc.)(Company Profile)
July 2, 1999... With new service in the wings, airplane safety belt maker takes off While operating an aircraft interior company, Mike Donoho ran into a snag that altered his course in the business world. He was almost finished with a $100,000...

New telecommunications era debuts in Gulf of Mexico.(Focus: Telecommunications)(installation of fiber optic cable in the Gulf of Mexico)
July 2, 1999... Step aboard one of two ships ready to set sail in the Gulf of Mexico and it's immediately apparent that these are vessels ready for work - not a pleasure cruise. Instead of lounge chairs and shuffleboard, there are 1,200 tons of fiber optic...

Phoning from home keeps placement firm up to speed.(Focus: Telecommunications)(Automotive Careers of Texas)(Company Profile)
July 2, 1999... Imagine a work-day lull. An executive grabs a cell phone, walks outside and saddles up a horse, free to ride through the wild oaks on a 170-acre ranch until the phone rings. Worried about waking up with drool on the keyboard? Not...

Merger turns Momentum into largest day trade firm.(Tradescape.com merges with Momentum Securities)
July 9, 1999... Equity firm investment of $40 million clinches union with Tradescape A deal reached last week will more than triple the operations of Jim Lee's four-year-old day trading firm in exchange for capital investment from two equity firms. ...

Developer seeks city loan to redo Humble building.(Historic Restoration Inc seeks public loans for the redevelopment of Humble Oil Building in Houston, Texas)
July 9, 1999... Houston City Council will consider next week whether to loan redevelopers of the Humble Oil building about $4.6 million as part of a new program to encourage reinvestment. New Orleans-based Historic Restoration Inc. hopes to become the...

Sleep disorder clinics awaken to boom.(Houston, Texas witnesses the growth of sleep disorder clinics)
July 9, 1999... Thousands of people are losing sleep every night in Houston, and plenty of clinics are lining up to tell them the medical version of a good bedtime story. With so many people having trouble getting enough Zs, centers specializing in sleep...

'Going once, going twice' goes online for Hart.(Hart Galleries launches first Web-based auction)
July 9, 1999... Local auctioneer pounds a successful gavel in its first Web-based event Bidders at modern auctions don't just have to worry if a wiggle of the nose or the unintentional touch of the ear will make them the accidental owners of say, a 1980...

Memorial's young gun.(Memorial Hermann Healthcare System Vice Pres Dan Wolterman)
July 9, 1999... Health care up-and-comer lands within hospital system 'inner circle' When Houston-based Sisters of Charity made the decision last year to merge with San Antonio-based Incarnate Word Health System, it effectively meant Dan Wolterman was out...

Setting the course.(efficient management strategies propels the success of Cimarron Software Services Inc)
July 9, 1999... NASA contractor turns to former school principal to help Cimarron take off When Marvin Triplett created what is now Cimarron Inc., NASA's Johnson Space Center was just outside his front door. But it would be five years before Cimarron...

Banc One's Internet-only bank debuts online services.
July 9, 1999... One of the leaders in the online banking revolution, Chicago-based Bank One Corp., last month launched an Internet only bank that will offer an extensive array of online financial services and network linkups with other online services. ...

Horizon Offshore Inc.(Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
July 9, 1999... Nasdaq HOFF 2500 CityWest Blvd., Suite 2200, Houston 77042 (713) 361-2600 Horizon Offshore Inc. provides marine construction services to the offshore oil and gas industry, primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. Total shares of common...

New rail service to rival trucking: Norfolk Southern bids to reduce time, cut costs with direct line to Northeast.
July 16, 1999... Norfolk Southern bids to reduce time, cut costs with direct line to Northeast A new rail service is on the fast track to significantly cut shipping costs between Houston and the northeastern United States. Norfolk Southern Corp. is...

Grocer uproots flowery fixture.(H-E-B Foods; Houston Flowery)
July 16, 1999... Everything isn't coming up roses for Houston Flowery. A San Antonio supermarket chain will soon be trampling through the tulips at the popular 25-year-old florist and garden center on Westheimer near Fountainview. H-E-B Foods has plucked...

Merger creates world's largest drilling firm.(Transocean Offshore; Sedco Forex Offshore)
July 16, 1999... Offshore drilling companies have been waiting patiently for months for the first round of mergers to begin consolidating their ranks. And this week, their endurance was rewarded. Transocean Offshore and Sedco Forex Offshore, a unit of...

Enron near deal to rescue hotel.(Crescent Real Estate Equities Inc.'s convention center hotel project)
July 16, 1999... Enron Corp. is very close to signing a deal with Crescent Real Estate Equities Inc. that could financially rescue the long-delayed convention center hotel project. The 1,000-room hotel was supposed to be built by Fort Worth-based Crescent...

Eye centers set their sights on LASIK surgery growth.(laser in situ keratomileusis)
July 16, 1999... Medical centers specializing in laser eye surgery are watching their profits increase significantly as the popularity of LASIK soars out of sight. The number of LASIK procedures now far surpasses the number of PRK surgeries, which four...

Disease management gets new emphasis at hospitals.(Health Care Quarterly)
July 16, 1999... A new patient entering the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is greeted by a caseworker. The patient advocate is there to help the patient negotiate the startling labyrinth of cancer diagnosis, treatment and coping. This year-old program is one of...

Telecom firm Splitrock bids to make a connection with investors.(Splitrock Services Inc.)
July 16, 1999... Splitrock Services Inc. wants to be the next high tech darling on Wall Street. The Woodlands-based telecommunications company has filed to raise $150 million in an initial public offering to fund operations and future growth. The...

Mastering the real estate ropes.(Brindlewood Estates)
July 16, 1999... Longtime boxing family develops Fort Bend community When Henry Harris first launched the idea of a planned community on the outskirts of town, neither he nor anyone else in his family had any small business experience. But today, five...

Texas Biotechnology Corp.(proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
July 16, 1999... American TXB 7000 Fannin, Suite 1920, Houston 77030 (713) 796-8822 www.tbc.com Texas Biotechnology Corp. is an emerging biopharmaceutial company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule drugs to...

Net retailer files $100 million IPO.(initial public offering)
July 23, 1999... Former Compaq exec seeks cyber-niche in online sales of expensive watches A Houston Internet watch retailer led by former Compaq Computer Corp. executive Kenny Kurtzman plans to raise up to $100 million on Wall Street. Ashford.com has...

High flier in aerial advertising.(Nighthawk Aerial Advertising)
July 23, 1999... What started as a post-college entrepreneurial jaunt has turned into a high-flying business for Stuart Williams. Nighthawk Aerial Advertising, his company that tows banners and billboards behind small planes, has taken off in the last few...

Oil firm bucks trend, drops poison pill.(Santa Fe Snyder Corp.)
July 23, 1999... In today's environment of mergers and acquisitions, a company dropping its shareholder rights plan is tantamount to an open invitation for potential takeover. Yet Houston-based Santa Fe Snyder Corp. has done just that. While other...

Concert hall could create club clash.(Engine Room)
July 23, 1999... In attempt to fill the void created by the closing of Rockefeller's on Washington, a local night club owner is building a 500-seat concert venue on the edge of downtown. And in the process, Mitch Burman may may be striking the first chord...

Methodist comes to aid of MacGregor Medical.(MacGregor Medical Association; Methodist Health Care System)
July 23, 1999... The MacGregor Medical Association appears to have found a white knight in the form of-Methodist Health Care System. MacGregor and Methodist have signed a letter of intent to form a strategic alliance that could range anywhere from a joint...

Spinnaker Exploration launches $115 million public offering bid.
July 23, 1999... Armed with one of the largest 3-D seismic databases for finding natural gas and oil in the Gulf of Mexico, a Houston company is looking to the public markets to fund its venture. Spinnaker Exploration Co. has filed to conduct an initial...

Dynegy Inc.(proxy report receipts)(Company Profile)
July 23, 1999... NYSE DYN 1000 Louisiana, Suite 5800, Houston 77002 (713) 507-6400 www.dynegy.com Dynegy Inc., formerly NGC Corp., is a leading provider of energy products and services in North America and the United Kingdom. Total shares of...

Surprising week shakes up Compaq.
July 30, 1999... New president, rare loss signal changing times for giant computer maker Compaq Computer Corp. surprised the industry and financial analysts last week by naming Michael Capellas as the company's new president and CEO - effective...

Supermarket merger remarkable.(Safeway Stores acquires Randalls Food Markets)
July 30, 1999... What a difference a decade makes. In 1988, West Coast outsider Safeway Stores beat a retreat from the Houston market. The Pleasanton/Calif.-based grocery chain was hammered by stiff competition and saddled with a reputation for low quality...

Faulty forecast leads to lawsuits.(Waste Management Inc.)
July 30, 1999... An optimistic financial forecast that failed to materialize disappointed shareholders of Waste Management Inc. so much that the company's stock price plummeted 37 percent in one day of trading earlier this month, from the $50 range to the low...

Chemical warehousing veteran moves forward with new facility.(International Distribution Corp.)
July 30, 1999... Doug Walt has grown his chemical warehousing business from a 3,000-square-foot space in 1977 to more than 1.5 million square feet today. After 22 years, Walt says it's finally time to build some facilities of his own. Houston-based...

Retailers brace for shopping frenzy on first sales tax holiday.(Houston, TX)
July 30, 1999... Binge could eclipse day after Thanksgiving as biggest buying period A new August holiday could usurp the day after Thanksgiving as the biggest shopping period for retailers. "It will probably be the biggest sales day of the year,"...

Regulators could force day trading firm to close Boston office.(Landmark Securities)
July 30, 1999... A Houston-based day trading firm expects to close its Boston office due to allegations by Massachusetts regulators that the firm violated state securities laws. But client traders of Landmark Securities in Boston have sent a petition to...

A glitch in time: using off-site software, Covenant Technology keeps its customers' computers running smoothly.
July 30, 1999... When St. Martin's Episcopal Church had a computer glitch, it never knew there was one. And when the church was notified about it, the problem had already been taken care of from a remote location by techies constantly tied into the church's...

Houston tech consultants update backward buildings.(TechKnowledge Consulting Corp.)
July 30, 1999... Dave Jacobs, TechKnowledge Consulting Corp. principal, remembers the time he received a panicked phone call from one Houston-area corporation. The high-tech company had decided to relocate to a scenic building on the outskirts of town, only to...

Integrated Electrical Services Inc.(Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
July 30, 1999... NYSE IEE 515 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 450, Houston 77027 (713) 860-1500 www.ielectric.com Integrated Electrical Services Inc, is one of the leading providers of electrical contracting and maintenance services in the U.S., and the largest...